Mowing apparatus.



w. B. BLAND.

MOWING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24,1916.

Patented June 5, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

W. B. BLAND.

MOW|NG APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24. 1915.

Patented June 5, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

if 7 f mi i m 131 o i w Z d 0 J 0 Witnesses Attorneys.

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WILLIAM BURIDINE BIL-AND, OF JENKS, OKLAHOMA.

MOWING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 5, 1917.

Application filed June 24, 1916. Serial No. 105,734.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, l/VILLIAM B. BLAND. a citizen of the United States, residing at Jenks, in the county of Tulsa and State of Oklahoma, have invented a new'and useful Mowing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mowing apparatus, one of its objects being to provide a simple and efficient mower having means whereby the knives can be sharpened while in operation, the sharpening means being constantly under the control of the operator so as to be shifted into or out of engagement with all of the knives of the mower.

A further object is to provide knives of novel construction which canbe sharpened readily, the cutting edges thereof being disposed out of the plane of the bodies of the knives.

Another object is to provide a finger or guard of novel construction for containing the sharpening means. A still further object is to provide mechanism of this character which can be applied easily to an ordinary finger bar.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter de scribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what clai1ned, without departing from the spirit of themvention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the inventionhas been shown.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of mowing apparatus embodying the present improvements, parts being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a section on lineA-B Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on line C-D Fig.2.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a guard'finger with the sharpening mechanism and the cover removed.

Fig. 5 is a section on line E-F Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of one of the knives and showing the ofiset cutting edges.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the sharpener controlling mechanismconnected to one end of the finger bar, portions being broken awav.

Fig. 8 is a view partly in section and partly in side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 7.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates a finger bar which is extended over and secured to a guard plate 2 the forward end of which is preferably upcurved as at Adjustably secured upon the guard plate is a clamping strip 1 having an upwardly extended ear 5 at one end and a longitudinal slot 6. Bolts 7 are extended through the plate2 and the slot 6 and also through a top plate 8 in which are formed slots 9. Spacing sleeves 10 are mounted on the bolts 7 and secured to the top plate 8 are strips 11 having depending ears 12. The cars 5 on the strips 4: are designed to engage the front edge ,of the finger bar 1 while the ears 12 are adapted to engage the rear edge of the finger bar. The top plate 8 has slots 13 through which extend the bolts 14; which fasten the bar 1 to the plate 2. Thus it will be seen that the various parts can be adjusted relative to each other so that the plate 2 will be held fixed relative to the bar 1. Furthermore the parts can be adjusted to bars of different widths.

Extending laterally from the rear end of the plate 2 is an extension 15 having a bracket 16 to which is pivotally connected a tubular arm 17 having its upper end'forkecl as at 18. The bolt 19 used for connecting this arm 17 to the bracket 16 canbe loosened, thus to permit angular adjustment of the arm so that its upper end will be brought to position close to the operator. A sheave 20 is mounted on the lower portibn of the arm 17 and is engaged by a cord 21 or other flexible element preferably provided with spaced buttons or knots 22 adj acent its free end. Thus the flexible element '21 can be adjusted longitudinally and held against movement in the opposite direction by seating the flexible element'in the fork 18 with one of the buttons 22 against the bottom of the arm.

The other end of the flexible element 21 is connected to a spring link 23 capable of expansion, this link being connected to a yoke 24 which straddles and is pivotally attached to one arm of a lever 25 ournaled on the plate 2. The other arm of this lever is Connected by a link 26 to a shifting bar 27 the bar 1., each rib being extended laterally beyond each side of the guard finger 28 to form wings 32 as shown particularly in Figs. 4 and A transverse ledge is provided byeach linger in front of the rib 31 and in front of each ledge is a longitudinal recess 34 extending close to the point of the finger and provided with an outlet opening 35 in the bottom' thereof through which moisture may drain and through which any dust or the like is free to fall.

Secured upon thefinger 28 at the front end of the recess 34 is across strip 36 to the ends of which areattached parallel stationary blades 37 which extend, along the sides of the finger and overhang the side portions of the recess 34, as shownparticularly in F g. 3. The outer edges of these blades are toothed, as indicated at 38, the teeth projecting beyond the sides of the finger 28.

. The rearends of the blades 37 are attached to the projecting end portions 32 of the ribs 31 on said finger so that a longitudinal slot 39. is thus provided above the recess 34 and extending thro'ughoutthe length thereof.

Arranged transversely within the bottom portion'of recess 34 are pivot pins 40 and'on both of these pins are mounted links 41 which are pivotally connected to ears 42 ex tending downwardly from the sides of a supporting plate 43. Resting on the plate is a sharpening element 44 preferably of stone, thissharpening element being held to the plate by ears 45 struck upwardly from the plate 43,01" by any other suitable means.

The sharpening element 44 is so propoc 'tionedasto work readily within the slot 39,

' it extending practically throughout the width of theslot but being slightly shorter I than said slot. A spring tongue 46 which can be adjustable in length, if desired, is secured to the rear end .of the plate 43, this tongue being preferably extensible by forming it with an integral loop 47. Said tongue rests on theledge 33 andhas an upstanding lug 48 which may carry a bearing sleeve or roller as shownv in Fig. 1.

The lugs 48 on thetongues of the sharpening elements carried by the several fingers 28 all project into obliquely disposed slots 49 formed in the shifting bar 27 which rests upon and extends transversely of all of the ledges 33.

Extending longitudinally above the shiftprovided for that purpose.

ing bar 27 is a sickle bar 50 preferably pro vided in its lower face with a longitudinal channel 51. tiecured uponthis bar are the rear ends of triangular blades or teeth 52 the cutting edges of which are oli'set downwardly, as at 53 so as to rest upon the blades 37', whereby the blades, in a sense, are rendered self sharpening and friction is reduced to the minimum. The sieklebar 50 is adapt-, ed to be reciprocated by any suitable means i cap 54 is secured upon and extends longitudinally of each of the guard fingers and I is spaced, at its sides,from the sides of the finger 28 so as to provide suiiicient clearance to allow the blades 52to work transversely of the guard finger. A spring member 55 I is secured to the bottom face of the cap or cover 54 and carries a bracket 56 in which is i j ournaled an anti-friction roller 57 which bears downwardly on the blades 52 adjacent thereto, thus to press the blades yieldingly onto the blades 37. Suitable oil cups 58 may be carried by the bracket 56 and an adjusting screw 59 may be employed for varying the tension of the spring member 55. j

A spring bracket 60 is secured to the rear portion of the cover or cap 54 and carries an anti-friction roller .61 which constitutes a thrustbearing engaged by the rear edge of I the cutter bar 50. An adjusting screw 62 may be employed for shifting the bracket 60 forwardly,thus to take up any wear which may occur. This bracket may likewise be provided with an oil cup 63 whereby the roller 61 may be lubricated.

A plate 64 may be pivoted upon the cap or cover 54 so as to extend over the adjusting screw 5-?) and close some oil holes 65. which may beprovided in the cap or cover 54, the rear end of theplate straddling screw 62. i

In operation the knives will reeipro. catc as ordinarily, these knives cooperating with the toothed blades 37 to sever any material brought intoposition between the edges offthe knives and the teeth 38. During this reciprocation of the knives 52, friction will be reduced by the rollers 61 and the knives will be held in their proper positions upon the/blades 37 by the spring'pressed rollers 57. Should it be desired to sharpen the knives 52 it will merely be necessary to pull upon the flexible element 21 so asto masses to normal position by a spring 25 and the sharpening elements will move downward out of engagement with the knives.

It might be stated that the movement of lever 25 can be limited by an adjustable stop 66 carried by the plate 2, as shown particularly in Fig. 7.

W hat is claimed is 1. In mowing apparatus, the combination with a guard finger and a knife mounted to reciprocate thereacross of a sharpening element normally housed Within the finger, a resilient support for said element and means for bodily lifting said sharpening element against the reciprocating knife.

In mowing apparatus, the combination with a finger bar and fingers extending therefrom, of a cutter bar mounted for reciprocation, knives secured thereto, a sharp-v ening element mounted within each finger, and means for simultaneously shifting the sharpening elements into position for en-. gagement by the adjacent knives during their reciprocation, said means including a shifting bar, resilient members connected to the sharpening elements, and slidable connections between said members and the bar for shifting the members longitudinally during the reciprocation of the bar.

In mowing apparatus, the combination with a finger bar and fingers extending therefrom and having recesses in their upper faces, of a holding element movably mounted within each recess, a sharpening device carried by each of said elements, links pivotally connecting said holding elements to the fingers, a shifting bar slidably mounted across the fingers, means operated by the movement of said bar for simultaneously pulling upon the holding elements to shift the links and move the sharpening elements out of the recesses.

4-. In mowing apparatus, the combination with a finger bar and fingers extending therefrom and having recesses in their up per faces, of a holding element movably mounted within each recess, a sharpening device carried by each of said elements, links pivotally connecting said holding elements to the fingers, a shifting bar slidably mounted across the fingers, means operated by the movement of said bar for simul taneonsly pulling upon the holding elements to shift the links and move the sharpening devices out of the recesses, a cutter bar, and knives secured to the cutter bar reciprocating across and between the fingers, the sharpening devices when shifted out of their normal positions engaging said knives.

5. In mowing apparatus, the combination with a finger bar and fingers extending therefrom and having recesses in their upper faces, of a holding element movably mounted within each recess, a sharpening device carried by each of said elements, links pivotally connecting said holding elements to the fingers, a shifting bar slidably mounted across the fingers, means operated by the movement of said bar for simultaneously pulling upon the holding elements to shift the links and move the sharpening devices out of the re cesses, a cutter bar, knives secured to the cut tor bar reciprocating across and between the fingers, the sharpening devices when shifted out of their normal positions engaging said knives, a cap secured upon each finger and extending over the knives and finger bar, and spring pressed means carried by the cap for bearing downwardly upon the knives.

6. In mowing apparatus, the combination with a finger bar and fingers extending therefrom and having recesses in their upper faces, of a holding element movably mounted within each recess, a sharpening device carried by each of said elements, links pivotally connecting said holding elements to the fingers, a shifting bar slidably mounted across the fingers, means operated by the movement of said bar for simultaneously pulling upon the holding elements to shift the links and move the sharpening devices out of the recesses, a cutter bar, knives secured to the cutter bar reciprocating across and between the fingers, the sharpening devices when shifted out of their normal positions engaging said knives, and cutting elements at the sides of each finger and cooperating with the knives.

7. In mowing apparatus, the combination with a finger bar and fingers extending therefrom and having recesses in their upper faces, of a holding element movably mounted within each recess, a sharpening device carried by each of said elements, links pivotally connecting said holding elements to the fingers, a shifting bar slidably mount ed across the fingers, means operated by the movement of said bar for simultaneously pulling upon the holding elements to. shift the links and move the sharpening devices out of the recesses, a cutter bar, knives secured to the cutter bar reciprocating across and between the fingers, the sharpening devices when shifted out of their normal positions engaging said knives, and cutting elements at the sides of each finger and c0- operating with the knives, said sharpening devices being movable into and out of position between the blades on each finger.

8. In a mowing apparatus, the combination with a finger bar and fingers extending therefrom and having recesses in their upper faces, of a holding element movably mounted within each recess, a sharpening device carried by each of said elements, links pivotally connecting said holding elements to the fingers, a shifting bar slidably mounted across the fingers, means operated by the movement of said bar for simultaneously pulling upon the holding elements to shift the links ancl nove the sharpening devices tions engaging said knives, cutting elements at the sides of each finger and cooperating withthe knives, saitl sharpening devices bein g inovahleinto and out of position between the blades on each finger, a cap secured upon each finger and extending over the knives Copies of this patent may be obtained for ting elements. I I a In testimony that I claim the foregoing as in the presence of tWo Witnesses. I

WILLIAMBURDINE BLAND.

Witnesses; I

W. D. MORROW,

VVMBEvANs;

five cents'each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D; 0.

15 my own, I have hereto afiixecl my signature 

